SOUTH CHINA SEA - After joining the Coast Guard on April 16, 2008, a local of Summerville, S.C., and graduate of Summerville High School, is now on a mission patrolling the South China Sea.

Sn Mathew May has been stationed aboard the 378-foot Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau, homeported in Alameda, Calif., for more than two years. The Morgenthau is now on the annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise.

CARAT is essentially a Coast Guard and Navy mission where Southeast Asian countries exchange law enforcement, military and search and rescue training with the United States maritime services. The mission is also used as a staging point for several missions of goodwill in the participating countries.

May has been hard at work and underway for nearly eight months.

"I worked for the deck force for the first half of the patrol, but have finished striking store keeper and work in the store keeper's office doing procurements & property reports now," said May.

"In just a few more months I will be advancing to a storekeeper pertty officer 3rd class. Meanwhile I just try to keep up with my workout routine, keep up with things that are going on at home with family and eat right," said May.

So far May and the crew of Morgenthau have gotten to visit Thailand, Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia. "I liked visiting the sites in the various port calls," said May.

The crew of the Morgenthau will continue to operate in the hot temperate climate of Southeast Asia. As for may, he eagerly awaits his advancement and next chapter in his Coast Guard career.

To view photos and video of the Coast Guard's visit to Southeast Asia, click here.

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